Friday, October 15, 2010

Blog Action Day 2010

Today is Blog Action Day 2010. The theme this year is water and thousands of bloggers from over 125 different countries will come together to write about water issues in their communities and around the world.

Nearly 1 billion people across the world lack access to clean water. The situation is pathetic in many parts of Africa. African women walk over 40 billion hours each year carrying pots weighing up to 18 kilograms to gather water.

India is also heading towards a water crisis. Urgent steps on a war footing are needed if we are to avert it. The per capita availability of water in India was 3450 cu m in 1952. It stands at 1800 cu m now and experts forecast that by 2025 it will plummet to 1200 1500 cu m per person.

Water quality also is deteriorating at an alarming rate. A 1982 study came up with a report that 70 per cent of all available water in India was polluted. The situation has gone worse now.

India’s fourteen major river systems are heavily polluted. This happens mainly from the 50 million cubic meters of untreated sewage discharged into the rivers. Farming is also contributing to pollution of the groundwater due to unregulated use of agrochemicals.

Sanitation and wastewater treatment should go hand in hand along with assurance of potable water. Unfortunately this is not happening in many areas. There is often dichotomy between implementing agencies. This has to be tackled urgently.

So folks spare a thought for water today. Use it judiciously. You can make a difference.

Here is some food for your thought. The cotton t-shirt you're wearing right now took 1,514 liters of water to produce, and your jeans required an extra 6,813 liters. Over 17 million barrels of oil are needed to manufacture water bottles, 86 percent of which will never be recycled.

The average person uses 465 liters of water per day. Find out how much you use and device ways to reduce it.

Here is a list of dos compiled by Go Green Travel Green1. Shorten Your Showers. An average shower goes through 5 or more gallons of water per minute.2. Cut Back on Bathing. Consider showering every other day, especially if you’re not working up a sweat each day. Caveat: If you wreak after a day of hiking in the woods, hop in the shower before climbing into your hostel bed.3.Re-Wear Clothes. Wash your clothes when they’re dirty instead of tossing them in the laundry bag after wearing them for a couple of hours.4. Pack Eco-Friendly Soaps. Bring low-impact soap, laundry detergent, and dish soap to make sure the water you do use isn’t polluted.5. Turn Off the Tap While Brushing. Most of us shut off the water at home when we’re brushing our teeth, but good habits sometimes fall by the wayside when we’re traveling.6. Reuse Cooking Water. When you’re cooking in a hostel, there’s no reason you need a pot of water for your potatoes and another one for your pasta. Instead, cook the potatoes first and reuse the water for the pasta.7. Read the Signs. When you’re hiking, don’t wash your clothes or bathe in fresh water streams unless it’s permitted.8. Skip Bottled Water. If tap water is safe to drink always go for it